Who We Are

Dawn Arnold, Artistic Director

Dawn Arnold, Artistic Director

Dawn Arnold, is an actress, director, and teaching artist. She is the founder and Artistic Director of The Moving Dock Theatre Company and Chekhov Studio Chicago. With The Moving Dock she has directed/created Unsung Stars, Celestial Mechanics- or the Questionable Attraction of Entities, and Savage/Love, and co-directed/adapted Galway Bay, Einstein’s Dreams, Ocean Sea, The Quiltmaker’s Gift, and Shakespeare’s Notebook. As an actress she has performed with The Moving Dock in Galway Bay, Undercurrents, Ocean Sea, and Eleemosynary, with Alchymia Theatre in Flood, and numerous other roles including Ranyevskaya in Cherry Orchard, Hesione in Heartbreak House, Mae in Mud, and Margaret in Richard the Third. She created and performed the Spirit of the Dance for Chicago’s Boitsov Ballet and her solo show, The Lydia Etudes – About Loving Anton Chekhov, which is currently touring. As a movement director and rehearsal coach, she has worked with Vitalist Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, House Theatre, and Janus Theatre, and coached actors working for Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Court Theatre among others.

Dawn is a certified teacher of the Chekhov Technique, trained by the Michael Chekhov Association (MICHA). She appears in the documentary, Master Classes in the Michael Chekhov Technique, produced by the Michael Chekhov Association. She has been on the faculty of Roosevelt University’s Theatre Conservatory, Music Institute of Chicago, Aurora University, North Park College, and Northern Illinois University. She is currently on the Faculty of the Michael Chekhov Association and the Michael Chekhov Acting Studio New York City, as well as Chekhov Studio Chicago. She is a guest artist around the country in workshops and residencies for colleges, high schools, and theatre companies.

Cindy Henkin

Cindy Henkin, Company Member

Cindy Henkin first wanted to study Chekhov since reading To the Actor while in college so she is thrilled to discover the Moving Dock. She has played the Quiltmaker thrice, once in the initial workshop of The Quiltmaker’s Gift and in the two subsequent productions. She developed the character of Antonia Maury through two workshop productions of Unsung Stars. Cindy has also appeared with Moving Dock in Dear…Reply, Forward, Send, 365 Days/365 Plays and Shakespeare’s Notebook. She has worked with International Theatre Company of Chicago, Streetsigns Theatre, Circle Theatre and Cleveland Public Theatre, among others. Originally from Cleveland and a graduate of Penn State, Cindy was also formerly a teacher in the Parenteen Program at Free Street.

Alicia Hall-Flesch

Alicia Hall-Flesch, Company Member

Alicia Hall-Flesch has been studying and practicing the Michael Chekhov Technique for about ten years. She was first introduced to the technique by another MICHA Master Teacher, Scott Fielding and worked as an actor for him on Flood and several other productions at Alchymia Theatre. She has worked with Shakespeare on the Green, Shattered Globe, The Journeymen, Next Theatre, as well as many others throughout Chicagoland. She holds an MFA from the Theatre School of DePaul Univ. and a BA from Barat College. She has ben involved with Moving Dock for several years. She was in Moving Dock’s first workshop project for Unsung Stars, originating the role of Annie Jump Cannon and performed that role at the Adler Planetarium. She appears in Moving Dock’s most recent show, Shakespeare’s Notebook.

Tim Olsen, Company Member

Tim Olsen began studying Michael Chekhov at Northern Illinois University, his alma mater. He didn’t fully recognize his love for Chekhov until he began working extensively with Artistic Director Dawn Arnold at Moving Dock. He began his studies with the Michael Chekhov Association, attending the International Michael Chekhov Association (MICHA) Workshop and Festival in Windsor, Ontario. It was there he found his calling and faith in Michael Chekhov’s Technique. Tim has also studied abroad at the Moscow Art Theatre School where he was Solyony in Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters. He has appeared in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead as Hamlet and as Dylan Thomas in Child’s Christmas in Wales at NIU. He originated the role of Shakespeare in Moving Dock’s newest show, Shakespeare’s Notebook.

Christa Macbeth

Christa Macbeth, Company Member

Christa Macbeth comes to the Chekhov Technique and Moving Dock Theatre by way of the spoken word. She spent many years with Eurythmy Spring Valley in NY State, where she taught creative speech and was the ‘voice’ for performances. She also collaborated with like-minded artists on independent recitals. In 2002 she moved to Chicago, where she seeks to light a flame teaching English as a second language. Her latest program is A Man Called Dante which has been performed in Chicago and in Spring Valley. She is enjoying growing in new directions as she works her way into the richness of Chekhov’s Technique with the Moving Dock Acting Ensemble. She appears in Moving Dock’s new show, Shakespeare’s Notebook.